Two cases of lymphoepithelial cyst in the oral cavity

Abstract

Lymphoepithelial cyst is a disease characterized by the formation of lymphoid follicles as histopathological features. It is also commonly called lateral cervical cyst or gill cyst, and it often occurs in the lateral neck but rarely in the oral cavity. We report two cases of lymphoepithelial cysts on the lower surface of the tongue and the posterior surface of the tongue. Case 1 was a 67-year-old man who complained of discomfort on both sides of the ventral of the tongue during follow-up after biopsy of a white lesion in the gingiva of the mandibular wisdom tooth. Two red bean-sized masses were found symmetrically across the frenulum of the tongue on the ventral of the tongue and were removed under local anesthesia. Case 2 was a 50-year-old man who visited our department with a chief complaint of swelling behind the dorsum of the tongue. A mobile elastic soft spheroidal mass with a diameter of about 0.4cm was found behind the dorsum of the tongue and was removed under local anesthesia. Cases 1 and 2 were histopathologically cysts lined with non-keratinized or parakeratinized stratified squamous epithelium, and lymphatic tissue with lymphoid follicle formation was found under the epithelium. Histopathological diagnosis was lymphoid epithelial cyst.